Breaking and Entering (excerpt 3)

I leaned my head back, turned my body to go back down the hallway and carefully began making my steps toward the stairwell. As I walked I thought to myself, what will I take… as a memento of this occasion? Something that will be missed but not to noticeable. I reached the top of the stairs and looked into the living room. I went to the lamp stand with the picture on it. There was one coaster on the table as well. I looked for the matching set of coasters and clear across the room there they were all stacked up nice and neatly on the other lamp stand. I bent over and picked up the single coaster and placed it in my back pocket. Perfect. Surely she would notice that a coaster was missing but she simple could get another one from the other side of the room. She might ponder about that for a moment.

Back at the top of the stairs, I slipped my way down to the basement. I was much darker down there so I had to carefully take my path from before so as to bump over one of the boxes. I approached the back door, carefully opened it without the slightest sound. I turned the knob to lock the door, passed through the door way, turned to face the door and gently closed the door shut. I checked that the door was locked. I turned and walked toward the shed. I opened the door, stepped inside, and closed the door behind me. I smoothly placed the key back exactly where it was, slipped out the doorway and latched the door shut. I walked straight out the driveway and turned left when I hit the road. Again, not a soul around, not a light, or car, no one knew what I had just done.

Now, what I believed to be my most difficult task, getting back into my bedroom window. I just needed a boost or something to stand on. But I couldn’t leave something at the bottom of my window until morning, surely someone, probably my Dad, would notice it. I stood in the backyard staring at my bedroom. I couldn’t help but think, shit, I really should have thought about this before I jumped out of the window. All I needed was a foot maybe two to get back into my bedroom. I thought of plenty of things to use, a patio chair, my sisters plastic slide, my Mom’s gardening bucket but I couldn’t keep any of it right outside by bedroom window. Then I saw it, the garden hose. My Mom had watered the flowers yesterday afternoon and was moving the reel all around the house. No one would probably notice if the garden hose was moved so picked up the reel and moved it a few feet closer to my window. I stood on top, put my hands on the window sill and jumped up. It was just enough height to get in. I would have to come up with a better plan in the future. Once inside I closed the window partially, took off my shoes, placed them in the closet, took the coaster out of my back pocket, placed it in my desk drawer, stripped off my tight jeans and t-shirt, removed my bracelets, and moved slowly into bed. I laid atop the sheets face up with my hands behind my head. I smiled and thought to myself, what a spectacular night.